Mangaluru: Dakshina Kannada District Congress Fishermen Cell president Chethan Bengre Monday said proper dredging had not been conducted in Nethravati and Phalguni rivers and the estuary mouths in Mangaluru for 25 years, and urged govt to procure a dredging machine and immediately take up the work.Speaking to reporters at the District Congress office, Chethan said minor dredging had occasionally been carried out, but the demand was for dredging using a cutter dredger machine. He said instead of dumping dredged sand back into the sea, it should be deposited on port department land stretching from Bengre to Kuloor in the city to level uneven ground and fill water-logged pits.This would enable the construction of additional fishing boat docks, he said. The existing dock can accommodate only about 200 fishing boats, while using the dredged sand for new docks would solve the sheltering problem for approximately 4,000 fishing vessels, including traditional boats, he added.Chethan said the issue had been brought to chief minister DK Shivakumar’s notice. He said CM responded positively and showed interest in purchasing a new dredging machine.District minister UT Khader, who is already aware of the fishermen’s problems, has said he will hold a meeting soon and submit a report to chief minister, Chethan said. Referring to chief minister’s recent visit to the fishing dock, Chethan said CM observed the fishermen closely and understood their problems.He said this visit raised expectations that the fishermen’s major demands would be met and their dreams would come true. Chethan said the third phase of the jetty expansion work was already underway. He added that several projects were approved in a cabinet meeting, including an allocation of Rs 8 crore for a traditional boat shelter in Kotepura, initiating the process to upgrade Mangaluru Fisheries College into a university, constructing a well-equipped wholesale fish market in Ekkur, and constructing link roads.Replying to a query, Chethan said the Mangaluru Smart City project was initially approved to complement port-related development. However, he added that around Rs 600 crore had been poured into roads and drains instead.
